Health and Fitness : Dr. Mark Dearden to leave VGH

By Brad Johnson · May 6, 2013, 12:43 pm

After more than 9 years serving patients with Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics, Dr. Mark Dearden, DO has announced his plans to move his family practice to Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, Iowa effective July 25, 2013.

Clinic Director, Dona Morris reflected, “Dr. Dearden has played a vital role and has been a cornerstone at Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics for the past 9 years. In our community, he has cared for our newborns, toddlers, teens, and all the way to our most honored senior citizens. He has cared for the residents in five local nursing homes, and held the medical director role at Hospice Compassus for 6 years. He sat as chairman of the Benton County Board of Health and as Benton County Deputy Medical Examiner for 9 years. We wish him the very best in his new adventure.”

“We wish Dr. Dearden and his family well at his new practice location,” said Mike Riege, CEO.

Dr. Dearden remarked, “I have been fortunate to have so many great patients and good relationships with the community, businesses, law enforcement, schools and others.” Dr. Dearden is a board-certified member of the American Academy of Family Practice (ATLS, ACLS, PALS, NALS, ALSO), he is also a member of: Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association, Iowa Medical Society, American Osteopathic Association, and American Academy of Family Physician

VGH management is currently working on a transition plan and patients of Dr. Dearden should anticipate a letter in the mail in the upcoming weeks, which will explain what to expect during this change.

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BJ May 6, 2013, 12:59 pm Dr. Dearden was my mother\'s physician while she lived in Iowa and he really connected with her at a professional and personal level. As the medical director of the hospice he made house calls and still speaks of my mom in warm terms. Vinton is losing a very good doc. Thanks for serving our community so well. Best of luck!

VCB May 6, 2013, 1:41 pm This makes me sad knowing you\'re leaving. But I\'m happy for your new adventure. You have taken GREAT care of dad and we/he will miss you . I hope I get the chance to see you before you move. Good Luck !!

BR May 6, 2013, 3:49 pm Our family will miss Dr. Dearden. He has seen us through a very tough year. We wish him well.

MG May 6, 2013, 4:39 pm I have never met you, but you take/took excellent care of my Grandparents- Roy and Margaret Henry. You cared for their bodies and their hearts and for this I appreciate you and wish you were not leaving! Good luck to you on your new adventure!

MM May 6, 2013, 7:03 pm I\'m really sad to see him go. But do wish him well in his new venture. I really appreciate the care he has provided to my family. You will be leaving some big shoes to fill.

RR May 6, 2013, 9:24 pm I think this presents an opportunity for our community to open our eyes and see some things that are not readily apparent. Mark Dearden has been my personal physician for years and a professional colleague that always has the best interest of who he\'s working with at hand. Mark is involved in many aspects of the community and gives above and beyond what is required of him. In recent years I have seen some excellent physicians come and go from VGH Hospitals and clinics. It is time we start asking why these physicians are leaving. I believe in my heart that it is time for Mike Reige and the powers that be start realizing that it\'s time for some changes and this will not be happening without the patients speaking up. Their facilities have lost me as a patient and I\'m assuming will lose more. It is run as a Dictatorship and that is not acceptable in today\'s world. VGH could have and by all means should have kept Dr. Dearden here no matter what it took because that is what\'s best for the patients. We have nobody better in our medical system. I have seen this man do so many things in the field that other Dr\'s would never do. Bottom line is that he is a top notch RESPECTFUL man. I will say that we have some individual Dr\'s who are excellent at what they do but we also have some who are on a power trip and trying to run a medical facility through power and control which is not about patients treatment. I challenge Mr. Reige and staff to take a serious look because without your patients your facilities are nothing and you are not helping the community by continuing status quo. This is a tremendous loss for Vinton as a community and for many patients. I encourage anyone with the same feeling as me to ask questions of the management and individuals who are in a position to do things about this problem. Demand of them that we want top notch care. Again I want it clear that I believe MOST of our Dr\'s are quality physicians but how long before they become a threat and get forced out or a target placed on their backs. This is my opinion and my opinions solely but we are losing a great man and VGH has lost one family for sure.

Thank you Mark for your contributions to the hospital, to your colleagues, and most importantly to the community.

A wise man once told me that we cannot make people do something but we can make them wish they had. And this folks is one of those opportunities as I don\'t think most people realize what\'s going on and what it is costing us as patients.

CV May 6, 2013, 11:04 pm Thank you so much Dr Deardon for helping me thru so many rough times. I am going to miss you so much..Best wishes in your new adventure :)

PS May 7, 2013, 8:03 am We hate to see u leave us. You have also helped my husband and my mother through their last months of life. I cannot tell you Mark what that meant to both of them. God speed in your new adventure we will certainly miss u here.

TB May 7, 2013, 9:19 am Although you are not my personal physician, you have made a positive impact on one person in my family. I will never forget your words of encouragement to my daughter during all those track meets!!! And the wonderful care you gave her when she needed 19 stitches in her arm. You\'re heart speaks volumes as to the person you are. I wish you and your family the very best in your new journey!! Keep in touch and let us know how it is going!!!

DaKH May 7, 2013, 11:37 am Dr. Deardon, although you were not our primary physician, you still cared for
our needs several different times. Plus you were a rock for my sister Rosa, when
she was so ill several years ago. We wish you the best in your new venture and thanks for all you have done for us in Vinton. God bless!!

NS May 7, 2013, 12:01 pm Dr. Dearden has been the most amazing provider my family could ask for. He took great care of our daughter and us when she came down with pneumonia. His personal attention calling us at home after her release from the hospital and even stopping in to check when he was not on call has meant the world to my husband, daughter and myself. We will miss him dearly and wish him and his family the best in this new adventure. Thank you for all you have done! You are amazing!

tr May 7, 2013, 9:39 pm thank you for the care you gave my mother. best wishes on your move.

L&RF May 7, 2013, 10:15 pm There has never been or will ever BE a finer physician than Dr. Dearden! He cared for my husband\'s parents, Bev and Ronnie and was so compassionate, caring and supportive through their illnesses. Dr. Dearden will be missed more than words can say. He will forever have a place in our hearts. Best of luck Dr. Dearden and family! Rod and Lori Fiebelkorn

LM May 8, 2013, 9:36 am Dr. Dearden, I pray that you and your family will be wonderfully blessed. You have been a blessing to me and my family, and we will miss you immensely. You are the most caring physician I\'ve ever had (and I\'ve had alot!) Thank you for all you\'ve done.

TC May 8, 2013, 6:24 pm I have worked with Dr. Dearden for the past 4 years and I\'m going to miss him and his family horribly. I have never worked with anyone like Dr. Dearden and I doubt I ever will again. He truly cares for his patients and their well being and will go above and beyond his duties as a provider to help. He has done so much for so many people not just patients but also the employees at VGH. Thank you Dr. Dearden for all your patience, understanding and knowledge you have shown me (and many others) these past years. I wish you and your family the best in this new chapter of your lives! Thank you! Im going to miss our \"Big Bang Theory\" talks.

ME May 8, 2013, 9:56 pm Good luck Mark-my prostate and I will both miss you!

BDO May 11, 2013, 3:53 pm Change is not always a bad thing. Our community will continue to receive excellent medical attention because their are many who make up a team. Devoted providers and nurse\'s remain within our community. One piece does not complete any puzzle it takes all the pieces for a picture to speak it true message. I am grateful for those who will continue to provide the best medical care for my family, friends and loved ones. I do not feel our health needs will be compromised in any way. Those who remain will simply continue to provide care to those in need.

pf May 16, 2013, 1:38 pm this is a very sad time for our family to see dr. Dearden leave. after losing many other wonderful doctors we thought we could finally have a family doctor once again. now once again same ole story he\'s been cased out. After reading the comment from Roger Roseberry on vinton today, it has opened up our eyes and has answered our question_why?We agree as patients we need to step forward and realize there needs to be something done. Yes, why do they chase all of these good doctors out? why is it that there is still one doctor that gets to stay? Does this doctor have a big part in this? We the people of our community need to realize there is something fishy going on and it needs to stop!!!!Sooner or later the truth will come out,when everybody starts wandering how many wonderful doctors do we have to go thru. Why can,t the community have a family doctor like Dr. Antony? One we had for may years. Mike Reige and his board need to wake up!!!!We need a big change in the head of this clinic. Do they really care? We don\'t think so. In the mean time we are not going back to vinton clinic and it is forcing us to go out of town.Our family wants to thank Dr.Dearden and his family for the years they have put into our community and its so sad and we\'re so ashamed they got chased out. We wish them the best of luck and we\'re sure they will be treated better than they were in Vinton. We will miss them so much. The Patten family.

TP May 17, 2013, 5:59 pm This is a tragedy. Dr. Dearden had given more of his time, energy and money to the hospital than anyone. He wasn\'t there to just make money as others are. As my physician, he was always concerned, spent time with me and came in even if he wasn\'t on call -at a great personal expense to his family and himself. Everyone in town has heard about the mess between physicians. The board of the hospital should examine how one provider is allowed to rule the roost and allowed to chase an excellent physician like Dr. Dearden away from our community. How many physicians have to leave before the Board starts figuring out who to hold accountable for these problems. A physician being allowed to go around yelling and screaming at employees and berating another doc in public is unacceptable and shouldn\'t have been tolerated. Ask any employee of the hospital and they have plenty of stories of this happening and how perfectly capable people were chased out if not liked. Time to really investigate what is happening here. Good luck Dr. Dearden

JC May 19, 2013, 7:51 pm Vinton is losing the greatest physician ever. he is not only our personal physician, but also a great friend. I truly do not know who we will have as a healthcare provider bow. If it weren\'t for my blindness I would go out of town, and nay still do so. We will miss Mark and his family. We will miss seeing his children grow up. We will miss his laughter at the irreverent group at church. Best of luck in Webster City. I hope they realize what a treasure they are getting. Vinton\'s loss is their gain. God bless you, Mark, and your family as well.

SR May 19, 2013, 11:22 pm I too am just so saddened to hear of Dr. Deardens soon departure :( He has been a great to me. He is so personable and caring. One day after work, I feared I would not make it to the clinic before they closed. I was late getting to my appointment, fearing I would be turned away. The girl at the desk said he may have already left when I arrived. However, the nurse called me back to the room and when Dr. Dearden came in I apologized for being late explaining that I sped all the way home from Cedar Rapids, and was told you may have left for the day. He replied \"I knew you were coming, I would have waited as long as necessary\" Now where can you find THAT kind of consideration! There are no doctors like him.
Thanks for all you have done for me and this community! I wish you all the best :)

KS May 21, 2013, 11:53 pm We have just celebrated hospital week at VGH. I am proud to have worked as a nurse at VGH since 1987. I have worked in Nursing and Rehab, acute hospital and the clinic. We all too were surprised of Dr. Dearden\'s news of leaving in July. I want to thank the VGH board and administration for always having the 200 employees\' best interest at heart. I understand that Dr. Dearden\'s patients are upset that he is leaving. But it is his choice to leave; he told us staff he is leaving for a great opportunity. I am shocked at all the rumors started by the community. Just remember there are 2 sides to every story. I wanted to respond to a few comments. I work side by side with the physicians daily and there was no \"mess\" between them. I believe a tragedy Mr. Pence is the Oklahoma tornados,not Dr.Dearden leaving. I think you should look at the names on the VGH $10,000 gift board. I remember when Shane Higgins and Harold Vanscoy left, it was upsetting to their patients; maybe you should ask them why they left. I just want the community to know that we have excellent medical care beyond Dr. Dearden,our 3 other great physicians in Dr. Mangold, Meeker and Elgin. Our PA\'s of Peoples, Burnes, Taylor-Stewart,and Vogeler, Hospitalist team of Matt, Meredith Katie, Allison, Tammy,and James.We are all a team at VGH. Our small community is so very fortunate to have such a wonderful hospital, clinics, providers, and staff.